Greater Eurasia – a Kremlin pipe dream

The “Greater Eurasia” partnership with China is a pet project of Russian President Vladimir Putin (L), but Chinese President Xi Jinping has the upper hand (source: dpa)

Russia’s “Greater Eurasia” strategy is intended to return it to great power status

It depends on cooperation with China in the region on equal footing

Russia is much more likely to end up in irrelevance than in a partnership

The deepening rift between Russia and the West has provided a new sense of urgency to the Kremlin’s “pivot to the east.” Its vision of a “Greater Eurasia” is currently held up as the country’s most important geostrategic priority. A pet project of President Vladimir Putin, it figures prominently at high-level meetings with international experts, like at the recent Valdai Discussion Club in April.

The ambition is for Russia and China to form and control a powerful bloc of non-Western countries which can challenge American hegemony. The advocates of this plan exude a great deal of confidence, and at a casual glance, they do seem to have reason to celebrate.

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